Xehanort :
Master Xehanort : :
Terra-Xehanort/Ansem, Seeker of Darkness : :
Xemnas : :
Young Xehanort : is the
main antagonist of the Dark Seeker Saga, the first phase in the
Kingdom Hearts series. He is initially introduced as the original form of the sentient Heartless Ansem and Nobody Xemnas, but is later established to be an elderly Keyblade Master from Destiny Islands who acquired the means to transplant his heart into the bodies of others, which he uses to orchestrate the events of the games up to
Kingdom Hearts III as part of his agenda. Throughout the series, Xehanort is driven by an obsessive interest in the Keyblade War, a historic cataclysm that resulted in the universe's present, fragmented state. In
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, he attempts to use the hearts of his pupils Ventus and Vanitas to forge the χ-blade and unlock Kingdom Hearts to incite another war, desiring to create a new world where light and darkness exist in perfect balance. He also transfers his heart into Terra's body to prolong his own life. However, he is defeated through the combined efforts of Ventus, Terra and
Aqua, gaining amnesia in the process. In
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Xehanort returns to his original form following the destruction of Ansem and Xemnas, who are revealed to have been created to reenact his original plan by gathering seven "guardians of light" and thirteen "seekers of darkness" in the form of the
Princesses of Heart and Organization XIII, respectively. He also uses
time travel to assemble Ansem, Xemnas, and other versions of himself from across time into a new Organization, sending their hearts into replica bodies to co-exist with their present self. In
Kingdom Hearts III, where he is defeated and his past selves are eliminated during a showdown against Sora's group, Xehanort surrenders and allows his heart to pass on together with his former friend Eraqus.
Kingdom Hearts χ reveals him to be Ephemer's descendant.
Naminé : is first introduced in
Chain of Memories, and is revealed in
Kingdom Hearts II to be Kairi's Nobody, who was created when Sora released Kairi's heart from within himself during the events of the first game. She has the ability to manipulate the memories of Sora and those close to him, for which she is called a witch. She originates from Castle Oblivion, and is forced by Marluxia to alter Sora's memories so he remembers her as a close friend from Destiny Islands, allowing Marluxia to manipulate him. Axel later lets her escape so she can reveal the truth to Sora, and oversees the year-long process to restore him and his friends' memories to their original state. Naminé also saves Riku in "Reverse/Rebirth" from Zexion, disguising herself as Kairi. While Nobodies initially lack true emotion and morality, they gradually grow hearts over time.
Dream Drop Distance reveals that the Organization's true purpose is to serve as vessels for Xehanort's heart in his plan to forge the χ-blade. A second, "real" Organization XIII is assembled from several of the Organization's older members, who willingly return to their Nobody forms, and various incarnations of Xehanort brought from the past using artificial replica bodies. The first Organization's members also serve as computer-controlled party members of
358/2 Days, and are playable in the game's "Mission Mode". Excluding Xemnas, Axel, and Roxas, the initial members and their original names are, in order of rank: • , a
marksman who wields two "arrowguns" (
rayguns) that can combine to make a
sniper rifle and has the power of spatial manipulation. His human identity, , is a guard at Radiant Garden. He is first introduced in
Kingdom Hearts II, with his role as one of Xehanort's first followers being expanded upon in subsequent games, revealing him to be an incarnation of the ancient Keyblade wielder , who collaborates with Xehanort to observe his actions. Xigbar and Braig are voiced by
Hōchū Ōtsuka in Japanese and
James Patrick Stuart in English, while Luxu is voiced by
Kenjiro Tsuda in Japanese and
Max Mittelman in English. • , a courteous gambler who has the power to control time and wields a deck of
cards. He is introduced in
Kingdom Hearts II. He later appears in
Kingdom Hearts III as one of Xehanort's seekers of darkness, recruited for his past as an ancient Keyblade wielder. Luxord is voiced by
Jouji Nakata in Japanese and
Robin Atkin Downes in English. • , who wields a
scythe and attacks with flower-based attacks. As the main antagonist of
Chain of Memories, he presides over Castle Oblivion and harbors intentions of overthrowing the group using Sora and Naminé's powers. Despite his betrayal, he appears in
Kingdom Hearts III as one of Xehanort's chosen "seekers of darkness" for his past as an ancient Keyblade wielder named . In most appearances, he is voiced by
Shūichi Ikeda in Japanese and
Keith Ferguson in English. • , a female member and co-conspirator of Marluxia is introduced in
Chain of Memories. She has electricity-based powers and wields a set of
knives. She appears in
Kingdom Hearts III as one of Xehanort's chosen "seekers of darkness" for her past as an ancient Keyblade wielder named . In most appearances, Larxene is voiced by
Yūko Miyamura in Japanese and
Shanelle Workman in English.
Riku Replica : is a replica of Riku created by Vexen from his combat data, who first appears as an
antagonist in
Chain of Memories. He initially appears to be Riku under the influence of darkness, but his true nature is revealed after he battles Sora to protect Naminé, who altered his memories so that he believed himself to be real as part of Marluxia's plan to manipulate Sora. The game's "Reverse/Rebirth" story mode depicts Riku's confrontations with his replica, who is eventually destroyed in a fight meant to prove his right to exist after discovering his origins. In
Kingdom Hearts III, Riku finds the replica's heart in the realm of darkness and gives it refuge within his own heart. A past version of the replica called "Dark Riku" also appears in the game as a member of the real Organization XIII, masquerading as Riku's younger self. After Dark Riku is defeated, Riku Replica sacrifices himself to extract Dark Riku's heart from its vessel, which he provides for Naminé.
Ansem the Wise : is the former sage king of Radiant Garden, who first appears in the "Reverse/Rebirth" storyline of
Chain of Memories as a bandaged figure known as . His true identity is revealed in
Kingdom Hearts II, which also reveals the
similarly named antagonist to be an impostor. Nine years prior to the first game's events, Ansem studied the darkness in people's hearts for the benefit of his world after taking in an amnesic Terra-Xehanort. After meeting with King Mickey and learning his research may be connected to a crisis happening in other worlds, Ansem ceased his experiments. However, Xehanort secretly continued the experiments under Ansem's name alongside Ansem's other pupils—Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and Ienzo—who exiled Ansem to a world of nothingness and formed Organization XIII. Ansem disguised himself as DiZ, an acronym for "Darkness in Zero", and escaped to exact revenge on the Organization. In
Chain of Memories, DiZ guides Riku through Castle Oblivion under the guise of Xehanort's Heartless. Along with Riku and Naminé, DiZ oversees the restoration of Sora, Donald, and Goofy's memories throughout
358/2 Days, moving them from Castle Oblivion to Twilight Town for safekeeping. When Roxas unwittingly begins absorbing Sora's memories, DiZ orders Riku to retrieve Roxas, whom he places inside a simulation of Twilight Town to eventually merge with Sora. In
Kingdom Hearts II, DiZ's plans fall apart when Sora does not function as he wants upon awakening. Upon realizing the harm he brought to Sora and his friends, DiZ becomes remorseful and abandons his desire for revenge. Ansem later reveals himself to Mickey at the World That Never Was while attempting to digitally encode Xemnas' Kingdom Hearts within a machine. The hearts overload the machine and cause it to self-destruct, with Ansem allowing himself to be engulfed by the blast to atone for his mistakes. ''Birth by Sleep's
epilogue reveals Ansem to be alive in the realm of darkness, where he relays his intact memories of Sora to Aqua. In Dream Drop Distance'', a digital copy of Ansem appears within Sora's heart to present Riku with research data he has hidden regarding Roxas, Xion, and Ventus's hearts. During the events of
Kingdom Hearts III, Ansem is brought back to the realm of light by Xehanort's Heartless to locate one of his former test subjects for the Organization before being rescued by Vexen's intervention. Following Xehanort's defeat, Ansem resumes his role as ruler of Radiant Garden.
Vanitas : is a Keyblade wielder and
antagonist who first appears in
Birth by Sleep, created by Master Xehanort from darkness extracted from Ventus's heart as part of his plan to forge the χ-blade. Vanitas was initially faceless at the time of his creation until Ventus connected his heart to the newborn Sora. This made Vanitas closely resemble Sora, albeit with black hair and yellow eyes. He considers Sora as a "brother" like Ventus since their connection defined him as a person. While Vanitas succeeds in merging into Ventus during their final confrontation at the Keyblade Graveyard, their reunion produces an unstable χ-blade, which is destroyed along with Vanitas in a metaphysical battle against Ventus within their combined heart. However, he briefly appears alongside Young Xehanort in
Dream Drop Distance in reaction to the presence of Ventus's heart within Sora's. In
Kingdom Hearts III, Vanitas is inducted into the real Organization XIII as one of the thirteen seekers of darkness, using a replica body with the intention of reclaiming Ventus's heart. Vanitas returns to his original time upon being defeated for a second time. While developing
Birth by Sleep, Nomura created Vanitas's relationship with Ventus under suggestion from the game's
Osaka development team, as he enjoyed the idea of adding more connections between characters. He chose the name "Vanitas"—Latin for "emptiness"—for its similarity to Ventus's name, and because its Japanese translation, , could be reinterpreted as Sora's name, which means "sky". a key factor behind his eventual falling out with Xehanort. Nomura described his relationship with Xehanort as that of old friends and classmates. At the start of
Birth by Sleep, Eraqus passes Aqua the Mark of Mastery but denies Terra, basing his decision on the darkness in his heart. He sends Terra and Aqua to deal with the appearance of the Unversed and the disappearance of Master Xehanort and Aqua to retrieve Ventus, fearing that Xehanort will use Ventus to create the χ-blade. When Ventus confronts him over this and confirms his fears, Eraqus attempts to destroy Ventus to foil Xehanort's plan, but is stopped by Terra. After battling with his student, he is struck down by Xehanort and fades away, leaving his Keyblade behind. However, the game's secret ending reveals that Eraqus had hidden his heart within Terra, allowing Terra to resist Xehanort's influence after being possessed by him. Eraqus returns in
Kingdom Hearts III, emerging from Terra's restored body and persuading Xehanort to surrender, after which their hearts ascend to the afterlife.
Dark Road explores Eraqus's childhood and his friendship with Xehanort leading up to the events of
Birth by Sleep. Eraqus' name is an anagram of "Square", referencing series developer company
Square Enix, and acting as a parallel to Yen Sid's name being
Disney in reverse. He also resembles
Final Fantasy series creator
Hironobu Sakaguchi. An boss modeled after Eraqus' armor, called the , appears in
Birth by Sleep Final Mix as an opponent in the Mirage Arena.
Foretellers The are a group of Keyblade Masters trained under the Master of Masters, each a leader of one of the five Unions established to gather light and combat darkness. They first appear in
Kingdom Hearts χ, where they are each given a copy of the Book of Prophecies, which details their master's prediction of the future and the manifestation of worlds. After the Master disappears, the Foretellers' paranoia of a traitor among themselves results in infighting that eventually leads to the Keyblade War and the destruction of the world. With the exception of Ava, the Foretellers appear in the epilogue of
Kingdom Hearts III, where they are summoned by Luxu and informed of the events that occurred in their absence. • is the "reliable" leader of the Unicornis Union, who is symbolized by a unicorn. Prior to disappearing, the Master of Masters assigns Ira to lead the other Foretellers in his place. He is voiced by
Yūichirō Umehara in Japanese and
Matthew Mercer in English. • is the "virtuous" leader of the Anguis Union, who is symbolized by a snake. She acts as the Foretellers' moderator while observing them and reporting her findings to Ira.
Other characters • , , and are three teenagers who live in Twilight Town. Virtual replicas of the three serve as Roxas' friends in DiZ's simulation of Twilight Town at the start of
Kingdom Hearts II, while their real counterparts help Sora infiltrate Organization XIII's stronghold through the digital town. They also briefly encounter Roxas during
358/2 Days. In
Kingdom Hearts II, the three are respectively voiced by Kazunori Sasaki, Hayato Taya, and Yuka Hirasawa in Japanese, and by Justin Cowden,
Sean Marquette, and
Jessica DiCicco in English. In
Kingdom Hearts III, Sasaki and Hirasawa are replaced by Makoto Sutō and Yuna Watanabe in Japanese, while they are voiced in English by
Zachary Gordon, Tristan Chase, and
Ashley Boettcher respectively. • is a cat-like species of Dream Eater created by the Master of Masters, with each Keyblade wielder receiving one to aid in their endeavors. Due to an empathic link to their Keyblade wielders, a Chirithy transforms into a Nightmare if their user is tainted by darkness, with the appearance of one starting the chain of events leading to the Keyblade War. After the digital Daybreak Town is destroyed, the Chirithies merge with their Keyblade wielders' hearts to protect them, becoming new Dream Eaters. Ventus's Chirithy appears in
Kingdom Hearts III, guiding Sora in the Final World before reuniting with Ventus. Chirithy is voiced by
Tomoko Kaneda in Japanese and
Lara Jill Miller in English. • The is the mentor to Luxu and the Foretellers, who vanishes before the events of
Kingdom Hearts χ. He possesses an eye with prophetic vision that allows him to transcribe the Book of Prophecies, embedding it within the "No Name" Keyblade and passing it down to maintain his future sight until it is acquired by Xehanort at the beginning of the series' storyline. In
Back Cover, he is shown to have a playful and mischievous personality that conceals his true nature. The Master of Masters is voiced by
Tomokazu Sugita in Japanese and
Ray Chase in English. • Master is a senior Keyblade Master and mentor to Xehanort and Eraqus at Scala ad Caelum, who appears in
Kingdom Hearts Dark Road. After seven upperclassmen disappear, he sends his new students to search the worlds for them. After most of his students are killed by Baldr, Odin decides to retire and make Eraqus his successor. • , , , and are Xehanort's and Eraqus's fellow Keyblade wielders-in-training under Master Odin, who appear in
Dark Road. They are set on a mission to discover the whereabouts of their vanished colleagues. Vor, Urd, and Hermod are eventually killed by fellow wielder Baldr, while Bragi, who is secretly Luxu, fakes his death and escapes. • is a Keyblade wielder who lives and trains in Scala ad Caelum. He appears in
Dark Road. After his sister Hoder is killed protecting him, his grief and guilt cause him to be overtaken by darkness, and he kills several other students and nearly summons Kingdom Hearts before being defeated by Xehanort. • , , , , , , and are high-leveled Keyblade Wielders and Master Odin's seven upperclassmen, who have mysteriously vanished. After Hoder, Heimdall, Helgi, and Sigrun are killed through the manipulations of an incarnation of True Darkness, the remaining three seek to summon Kingdom Hearts to avenge their deceased friends, not realizing it is part of the Darkness's plans. The last of the upperclassmen are killed by the Darkness-possessed Baldr during the final confrontation at Scala ad Caelum, but Hoder's ghost briefly returns to help Eraqus and Xehanort defeat Baldr. • is the designation given to a mysterious girl mentioned by Ansem, Seeker of Darkness and Ansem the Wise in
Kingdom Hearts III. Her whereabouts and true identity are currently unknown. • The is the spirit of a mysterious girl lingering within the Final World. While her identity is unknown, she has been stated to be a form of another character who has previously appeared in the series. She originally came from Quadratum, a world from "the other side". The Nameless Star is voiced by
Risa Shimizu in Japanese and
Madison Davenport in English. • is an embodiment of True Darkness from which all other darkness spawns; it exists in thirteen separate incarnations. In the aftermath of
Union χ, seven are sealed within the Master of Masters and his six apprentices, four are trapped within the data Daybreak Town, and one is sealed inside Ventus, later being released as Vanitas. The identity of the last incarnation is unknown. • is an inhabitant of Scala ad Caelum, whom Brain meets at the end of
Kingdom Hearts Union χ. ==Disney and Square Enix characters==